UK mortgage approvals at 6-month peak

Discussion in 'Buying & Selling Real Estate' started by missbishi, Mar 31, 2015.

  1. missbishi

    missbishi Well-Known Member

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    Great news for UK-based realtors, mortgage lending in the country has hit a six-month high according to the Bank of England. Although it was a relatively small increase, it is seen by many to be evidence that the housing market is on it's way back up.

    How is mortgage lending in your country? Has it become harder to obtain a home loan over the past few years or are things beginning to improve?


    http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-32114763
     
  2. crimsonghost747

    crimsonghost747 Senior Investor

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    Well in most of Europe I think the price of housing is just too high. This is talking about popular urban areas... in some cases you need a 30 year mortgage for a small apartment! So I do think there is a bit of a bubble somewhere in there, though it's ofcourse location specific.

    Currently I don't have a mortgage but I've heard that they have started taking a closer look simply due to the amount of financial problems people are having. Though my personal finances are in a pretty good shape so I'm sure I could get a mortgage if I needed to.
     
  3. Gelsemium

    Gelsemium Senior Investor

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    I am glad to see that credit is finally improving, but at the same time like not just anyone can get it. It's not that prices are that high, I think they are at a low actually because no one is buying.
     
  4. Rosyrain

    Rosyrain Senior Investor

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    It is much harder to get a home loan here in the US than it was before the 2008 recession. Before then, banks would hand out loans like candy and often with no money down. Now some banks require up to 20% down and fairly good credit. There are programs like FHA that will assist you in getting a loan with as little as 3.5% down and that is what I am looking into at the moment.
     
  5. crimsonghost747

    crimsonghost747 Senior Investor

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    But they are high in the majority of the EU, UK included.
    Being locked in a 20-30 year mortgage for buying a place to live is NOT a normal situation in my opinion. I'm 26 at the moment, if I would get a nice place with a small payment up front I would still be paying it off when I was 50!
     

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